Agenda and draft minutes

The outgoing Chair, Colin Marr, opened the meeting and asked for nominations for Chair of the Joint Informal meeting of the Alexandra Park and Palace Statutory Advisory Committee and the Alexandra Palace and Park Consultative Committee for the 2014/15 Municipal Year.

Gordon Hutchinson was nominated and seconded, and there being no other nominations, it was:

RESOLVED:  That Gordon Hutchinson be elected as Chair of the Joint Informal meeting of the Alexandra Park and Palace Statutory Advisory Committee and the Alexandra Palace and Park Consultative Committee for the 2014/15 Municipal Year.

Gordon Hutchinson in the Chair

The Chair thanked Clifford Hart for his explanatory comments at the beginning of the evening’s proceedings.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mann, Gunes and Egan and from Evelyn Regan, Caroline Hayter and Liz Ricardson, and from Councillor M Blake and Nigel Willmott for lateness.

A Member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i)        Must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii)       May not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

None declared.

i.          To approve the minutes of the Joint Statutory Advisory and Consultative Committees held on 8 April 2014.

iii.        To note the draft minutes of the meeting of the Alexandra Palace and Park Board held on 10June 2014.

RESOLVED:

i.              To approve the minutes of the Joint Statutory Advisory and Consultative Committees held on 8 April 2014.

ii.            To note the draft minutes of the Alexandra Palace and Park Board held on 10 June 2014.

In response to a question Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive Alexandra Palace and Park, explained that the figure of £15m referred to in minute number APB0359 on page 11 made up a portion of the amount of the current estimated total for the regeneration project of £24,933m referred to under minute number APB0358 on page 10, with the difference being accounted for by, amongst other things, the cost of the fitting out of the former television studios, theatre and other spaces, and repairs to the roof.

To receive the report of the Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace, which updates the SAC and CC on progress with the design of the HLF project covering the refurbishment of the TV studios, the theatre and the East Court.

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive Alexandra Park and Palace, and Kerri Farnsworth, Regeneration and Property Director, introduced the report.

NOTED

·         That it was important that the business plan was sustainable;

·         That the proposals in the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) project addressed all major challenges relating to the east end of the building;

·         The East Court would be radically transformed into a warm and welcoming space, providing wifi-enabled areas for people to linger and relax in, areas for drinking/eating and areas for dynamic movement;

·         The theatre would be an adaptable space which would be capable of hosting a wide range of programmed activities including live performance, banquets, film screenings, weddings, awards ceremonies, etc. In a wide variety of audience configurations;

·         The BBC wing will tell the history of popular entertainment at Alexandra Palace and beyond from Victorian theatre, through the development of public broadcasting and broadcasting technologies, up to the present day through a series of varied but interconnected spaces over two floors.  The ticketed and timed experience would commence at a grand new staircase leading from the East Court;

·         That the associated planning application would be submitted in November 2014 and that the HLF Stage 2 bid would be submitted in December 2014;

·         That the project included full access for people with disabilities;

·         The ice rink would be kept fully operational during the proposed works;

·         That there were risks involved with the project; the presence of asbestos being one of them.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended design approach be endorsed as that most likely to meet stakeholder and public expectations, to realise the potential of the TV studios as a public attraction and the theatre as a performance/cultural space, within financial parameters.

To receive the report of the Director of Property and Regeneration, Alexandra Palace, which advises members on a number of areas relating to property and regeneration at Alexandra Palace and Park.

Kerri Farnsworth, Regeneration and Property Manager, introduced the report.

NOTED

Key Stakeholder Relationships

·         That that it had been agreed that the Palace’s relationship with the BBC now needed to be formalised by way of a Memorandum of Understanding, due to the extent of the inter-relationship between the Heritage Lottery Fund project and the BBC, and that this was being progressed currently by senior staff within the BBC.

HLF Professional Team

·         That the two professional appointments were consultants employed to carry out specific tasks.

Surveyor to the Fabric

·         The sum total of investment advised over the 10-year lifespan of the Fabric Maintenance Plan (FMP) was £36m.

Planning Applications

·         A site plan showing the proposed positioning of the new climbing frame for the Little Dinosaurs playgroup was circulated at the meeting;

·         The climbing frame had been moved from its original position to a less obtrusive one at the edge of the Playgroup site;

·         A member of the Committee asked for clarification whether there was a limit of 28 days per year on the use of the Bouncy Castle at Little Dinosaurs.  Duncan Wilson said this would be checked.

Park Development Projects

·         The proposed urban orchard would be located in the Railway Field in the Grove, in the proximity of the maintenance yard;

·         That details of any proposal relating to the establishment of an orchard would be put before the next meeting of the Joint-Committee;

·         Bee hives could be installed in an appropriate location, possibly in the Park Yard, if bee-keepers could be found who were prepared to maintain the hives.

Keri Farnsworth drew attention to the two appendices to the report which related to the ‘Go Ape’ high-level adventure course.

Ben Davies, on behalf of Go Ape Ltd., gave a presentation on the proposal for Alexandra Park.

Following the presentation members of the Joint-Committee raised a number of issues including security arrangements associated with the course and its location within the Park, including the close proximity to the deer park; the proposed charges; the potential noise impact; the potential significant financial income to the Palace and Park; the fact that the facility would provide an interesting activity for local school children, and the length of the operating lease.

The Chair, as a representative of the Friends of Alexandra Park, raised concerns relating to the potential loss of a peaceful area within the Park, the use of the avenue of Plane trees flanking the road, the method used to mount the platforms in the trees, the height of the platforms, and the obtrusiveness of the adventure course.  He went on to say that the Friend’s Committee were firmly of the view that the proposed course was not an acceptable proposal because of the impact on the avenue of Plane trees.

RESOLVED:

i)             That the new position of the proposed climbing frame associated with the Little Dinosaurs Playgroup, as shown on the tabled site plan, was acceptable to the Joint Committee.

ii)            That in regard to the ‘Go Ape’ adventure course the Joint-Committee agree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Due to the fact that it was 9.59pm the Joint-Committee voted to suspend its Standing Orders to enable the meeting to continue beyond 10.00pm until such time as the remainder of the business on the agenda was completed.

To receive the report of the Commercial and Development Director, Alexandra Palace, which advises members and seeks views on recent APTL events and activity.

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive Alexandra Park and Palace introduced the report.  He drew attention to the proposed pop-up beer garden, and the associated plans and drawings attached to the report.

RESOLVED:

i)             That the contents of the report be noted;

ii)            That it be noted that planning for the 2014 fireworks event was underway, and that a detailed proposal would be put before the Alexandra Palace and Park Board on 22 July 2014;

iii)           That, because it was both a temporary structure and it enhanced the area, the proposal for a temporary movable structure on the Beach be endorsed by the Joint-Committee.

To receive the report of the Head of Learning and Community Programmes, Alexandra Palace, which updates members on learning and community programes.

RESOLVED:

That the recent good progress with the Trust’s learning and Community programmes, including significant increases in attendance numbers, be noted.

To receive the report of the Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace, which advises members of the process to be adopted under public procurement for market testing the hotel opportunity at Alexandra Palace.

RESOLVED:

That the Joint-Committee endorse the recommended approach in issuing an invitation to tender for the hotel opportunity and an associated interest in the events business, as detailed in the report, as that most likely to meet the Trust’s objectives and secure investment of the magnitude needed on terms acceptable to the Trust.

There was none.

There were none.

There was none.

7 October 2014

20 January 2015

14 April 2015

Noted that the dates of future meetings were:

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Tuesday 14 April 2015